Delhi HC to hear disabled MBBS students’ plea on Sept 17

A disabled student with an amputated left arm has filed a writ petition in the Delhi High Court after she was denied admission by medical colleges despite qualifying NEET.

The Delhi High Court has accepted the petition filed by a medical aspirant who cleared the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) but denied admission by medical colleges on account of her physical disability. The court has fixed the next date of hearing to September 17.

The petitioner left arm is amputated and she has been advised to undergo a hand transplant in a couple of years. Through her petition, she has challenged the General Medical Admission Regulation, 1997 that says for being eligible for medical courses, both hands of the candidate should be intact, with sufficient strength and range of motion and with intact sensations.

The petitioner's plea claims that this clause dis-entitles a person with a disability of this nature to pursue medical education. Her advocate Mrinal Gopal Elker mentioned that it is abhorrent to the principles enshrined in the United Nations Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2006 and the Right of Person with Disability Act, 2016 and it also violates disable candidates' fundamental rights under Article 14 and 21.

He also asked the court what if after a few years, she undergoes a successful hand transplant surgery, then the opportunity denied today would put an embargo on her aspirations to become a doctor. Mrinal also pointed out the need for giving equality of fair opportunity to realize the full potential of a candidate as held by the Apex Court in Sunanda Bhandare Foundation v. Union of India (2017).

Government's advocate Abhijit Chakravarty submitted that the Delhi University will be implementing authority in the matter as DU allotted a seat to the petitioner in one of its affiliated colleges. The matter was adjourned to enable the petitioner to implead DU.

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